I have been probably the loudest advocate of the 'Kenya is not a failed state' shouting contest,but the more I read about our enviromental challanges,the more I worry that we may be on the way there and ultimately,its our continous degradation of the enviroment that will lead to our doom.

Guy's this is very serious;

Dead lakes;

a) Apparently several in Baringo district including Lake Baringo itself,Lake Bogoria and others whose names I don't know,after uncontrolled charcoal burning,the result is now pastoral communities are fighting for the little available water.

b) Lake Nakuru firstly was dead and threatened the existence of Tourism revenue as the milions of flamingos would have permanently decamped to Lake Natron in Tanzania,

c) solution was the KWS decided to pump water from Lake Naivasha,and now sadly Lake Naivasha is on its back and with it our horticulture will be gone.

d) Lake Turkana has seen its water level recede over the last couple of years

e) Lake Victoria has equally seen its waters recede plus the nile treaty effectively denies us cate' blanche access to resources in our territories.

Economic impact;

We are currently all aware of the economic impact that is a direct result of enviromental degradation in our country.

The old one used to be pastoralists losing their animals and kenyans mostly did not care since the impact was limited to their vast but sparsely populated areas.

Now the impact seems to be on every kenyans doorstep.

a) Rising energy bills

b) Widespread crop failure and resultant food insecurity

c) Water shortage in our major city Nairobi. Apparently a 20 litre mtungi is going for Sh.100 if you can even find it.

d) Potential threat of the Mau to Maasai Mara,our biggest tourism attraction. And Lake Nakuru

e) Significant reduction in fish landings along Lake Victoria

f) Lake Naivasha directly threatens Horticulture

The domino effect will likely effect every Kenyan.

The question is what are we to do as a nation. I don't want to go back to the question of what the gava is doing coz the answer is easy,NOTHING. Surprisingly the minister incharge is John Michuki,who is widely regarded in this forum as the most effective. Kenya has also produced probably the most emminent environmentalist in the world in the Name of Wangari Maathai.

Guyz,this is the biggest threat to our country,forget politics. It cannot be overemphasised. What should we do,at the national level,individuals planting trees is sweet,but not enough.

Lets please brainstorm,I am sure someone reading is in a position to initiate action.



I've noticed the youth in particular coming in to a workplace with a completely outsized notion of their own value and importance... just a thinly-veiled arrogance. May be the credit crunch induced recession is whats needed to remind us all about the value of hard work.... By Anonymous

Obi,
You are spot on.......In the last few weeks i have been to a couple of districts which i would consider to be the food baskets of this country.I can assure you what we have at hand is crop failure unheard of in Kenya.Of cause,this 'NOTHING' government won't stock until people start dying.It is very grave....!!.I sincerely doubt there is anything a couple of ordinary Kenyans can do to reverse the environmental damage this far.The buck stops with the goverment.........One of the most annoying equipment i would ban without thinking twice is the 'powersaw'........There is nothing that is eating our forests than this otherwise humble equipment.............Maybe we can start by petitioning Kimendero to ban this thing.

Yombo dhier....!!

The last i heard about coal in Mui basin was that samples had been sent to SA and our 'coal' was found to be superior in terms of ash content........Nothing after that..........You see Obi,in this country,time is not of essence.Pray that you will have teeth left the next time you hear about it.

Give Kenyans water........sufficient water and they will never beg again.We have the resources but again.......How about zero rating paraffin and cooking gas to make it more affordable than charcoal?......How about encouraging households to embrace bio-gas from animal slurry?......

Yombo dhier....!!

Obi,the issue is not what some messianic leader is going to do,but what you and I will do. I suspect that if we don't get short rains in Aug,tukikiona in October. We already water/power rationing; cattle and people rustling on massive scale in NE; looming and on-going famine.

Starting tree planting projects is one of the best things that you can do as it guarantees that our sons and daughters don't grow up in Kenya desert. If each Kenyan planted and was asked to take care of 10 trees,that would be probably enough to start with. Its not a lot 10 trees...

Encouraging water harvesting is another medium term thing. But that depends on good rains.

Solar energy-kweli common sense is not common. We have 12hrs of guaranted sunshine everyday and only Kaigangio has thought of installing his own power supply?

Kimeendero and Wangari Maathai can also do their part by encouraging and pushing for complete ban on charcoal burning and logging. Get rid of NEMA which is apparently planning an office in Karura.

Recycling of waste. Human waste can easily be processed into manure. And this would be a solution for all those who don't ahve toilets or proper sewage systems.



Obi-only fools don't change their minds. Good to see you are not one...


www.mjengakenya.blogspot.com

what happened to the Moi's presidential decree of the 1980s where one was suppossed to get a chief's permit to cut a tree? and you were required to plant 2 trees for every 1 cut?

The government should urgently have a policy of all land owners planting trees onl atlest 10% of their land and strictly enforce it.

@Sk,pls stick it....conservation of the environment is a millenium goal as set by UN.
During my junior school days,the Gava had a deliberate policy/directive to have a National tree planting day. Now the trees we planted hav been felled by greedy school Heads and chiefs no longer mobilise pple in conserving the environment....we've indeed failed

The world is a dangerous place to live; not becoz of evil pple,but of the pple who do nothing about it - Albert Einstein

I was born intelligent,education ruined me.

Its really disappointing to see the gava trying to revive Panpaper. This thing is dead and inefficient. We don't have trees to make paper,paper is not a crucial industry like agriculture and in any case this company has not improved the lives of Webuye residents say the way Mumias,many tea companies,or the Dairy industry improves the lives of them rural folk.

This specific company has been proved beyond doubt that it cannot operate as a viable business. It doesn't even have a recycling plant,it also misuses water which is proving to be a scarce resource

Shut it down and sell its assets to someone in Congo where they can afford to chop down trees. Let Kenyans import paper,its even cheaper for the economy.


I've noticed the youth in particular coming in to a workplace with a completely outsized notion of their own value and importance... just a thinly-veiled arrogance. May be the credit crunch induced recession is whats needed to remind us all about the value of hard work.... By Anonymous

I think people in cities/towns just step up and stop this silly idea of putting all their trash/garbage in the same bag. There should be separation of bottles/glass,paper,plastic,metal/cans and food waste.That way,those who are interested in recycling will have it easy. It will also encourage recycling and that will reduce pollution significantly. The garbage heaps all over will be a thing of the past since trash will be 'gold'. But so long as we see it as kanjo's duty to do everything to keep the city and the environment clean,we'll keep on wasting resources and denying ourselves economic opportunities. Separating your trash is a small act that will have a profound and positive impact on the environment and several pockets. Its a multi-billion thing.

When i see my purple,you see it not.

Lake naivasha and elementaita are also drying up.Flamingos in Lake elementaita are just crowding in a small patch of the remaining waters of the former lake and they are so much vulnerable to preditors.

You can easily pity the resilient birds as they crowd to breed and survive in the waterless lake in a kind of a 'bird slum'.

As a local tourist,there may be nothing left to see in my beloved country unless we stop the noise and act now.



The Mau forest issue needs to be sorted out Now.

I believe that the problem of the environment in Kenya is very complex and requires a judicious balancing between economic development,livelihoods and environmental security. But what complicates the issue is politics of the belly- and when I say this I do not necesarily mean you shift your mind to the politicians. It begins with you.

How many of us are willing to pay more for a packet of yoghurt packed in a tetrapak rather than plastic?. Think of bread,milk,sugar,your supermarket shopping and the list is endless. When you drive over the bridges over the globe cinema roundabou,think of the source of the plastic- your house.

For those who do not know,Kenya has had one of the most ambitious environment laws in africa since 1999 but the destruction goes on unabated courtesy of politics and a moribund NEMA.

And lately,some leaders seem to think that the international community should sort out the Mau issue......stupid stupid stupid stupid.






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